| Economic Indicators |
Year
Ago |
Previous |
Current |
Real
gross domestic product growth
(annual rate in percent) |
1Q07
0.6 |
4Q07
0.6 |
1Q08
0.6 |
Index
of leading economic indicators
(change in percent, monthly) |
Past
6 Months
-1.6 |
February
-0.3 |
March
0.1 |
Housing
starts
(million units annualized, seasonally adjusted) |
March
1.491 |
February
1.075 |
March
0.947 |
Unemployment
rate
(in percent) |
April
4.5 |
March
5.1 |
April
5.0 |
Total
imports
(in billions, seasonally adjusted) |
March
$191.6 |
February
$212.8 |
March
$206.7 |
Total
exports
(in billions, seasonally adjusted) |
March
$128.6 |
February
$151.1 |
March
$148.5 |
Consumer
price index
(percent change over preceding 12 months) |
March
2.8 |
February
4.0 |
March
3.9 |
Federal
Funds Rate
(monthly average, in percent) |
April
5.25 |
March
2.61 |
April
2.28 |
Prime
Rate
(monthly average, in percent) |
April
8.25 |
March
5.66 |
April
5.24 |
